POI Launches Initiative with Current Interns

Washington, D.C. – Since November 2016, Pay Our Interns (POI) has been a leader in advocating for the compensation of internships across America, and have been steadfast advocates for increasing the equity and inclusion of internships, which disproportionately affects marginalized communities. Since POI launched it has worked with Congress, the DNC, Presidential Candidates, and several other organizations to ensure that paid internship opportunities are created and accessible. Even though Congress has allocated over $30 million in intern pay as of October 9th, 9% of representatives currently state that they pay their interns, and a disproportionate amount of interns not working on Capitol Hill are also unpaid. POI’s three-year celebration will be hosted at Hogan Lovells LLP in Washington, D.C. on November 12th, 2019.

The following week, a new initiative for POI “Interns for Change” will be conducting a nationwide walkout on November 20th, from 9:30-11:30AM in Freedom Plaza. “We are organizing young people in DC and around the nation to walk out in order to protest the inaccessibility of internships across America and promote the idea that interns deserve compensation for their work. A group of students who are spending their semester in DC -all of whom are unpaid interns- approached us with a shared passion, and proposed the idea to push the intern movement event further” shared Guillermo Creamer, co-founder of Pay Our Interns.

Pay Our Interns invites all interns across Washington, D.C. to stand in solidarity and advocate for more equitable opportunities in one unified voice. No one should have their aspirations for personal and professional growth curtailed by economic or social instabilities. “This movement is bigger than all of us alone. We know that, together, we can work to create a country where every American has the opportunity to intern without concern for economic barriers. We look forward to standing with fellow young people and amplifying the message that the future of internships are paid,” said Griffen Saul, initiative coordinator.

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Pay Our Interns is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that advocates for more paid internships and expanding workforce development opportunities among youth. A student’s socioeconomic status should not be a barrier to getting real-world work experience. POI is headquartered in Washington, D.C. For more information visit www.payourinterns.org